Spring
by thestrengthofacherryblossom
Summary: "First and foremost, you are my disciple. A kunoichi who will inherit the power of the Legendary Sannin. And . . . Sakura Haruno . . . you are also the disciple of the Fifth Hokage!" Sakura Haruno decides, after the Wave mission, she won't be weak anymore. She'll be the strong one. (rated T for potential language, AU, powerful!Sakura)
1. Preface

**Full description: _"First and foremost, you are my disciple. A kunoichi who will inherit the power of the Legendary Sannin. And . . . Sakura Haruno . . . you are also the disciple of the Fifth Hokage!"_  
** **After the disaster that was the mission to the Land of Waves, Sakura vows to herself that she will never be weak again - she swears that she will become a true teammate to Naruto and Sasuke, instead of dead weight.  
** **This is her journey.**

 **So I'm sure that you guys noticed that I deleted the earlier version of _Spring_. The reason is that I just wasn't really feeling that idea - so I adapted it into this. Basically, instead of starting at _Shippuden_ , this story starts after the Land of Waves mission, like _Strength within Myself_ and _Pulling My Weight_. Actually, reading _Pulling My Weight_ for, like, the thirtieth time - or something like that - was what inspired me to rewrite this.**

 **But as a warning, updates will likely be sporadic at best (and downright rare at worst) because the end of the school year is coming and that means finals and all that jazz - so teachers are starting to really crack down. I'm also writing other stories on different accounts, so not all of my time will be devoted to _Spring_. Just as a prior warning.**

 **Also, the pairing is pretty much confirmed to be Itachi/Sakura/Shisui. Just so you guys know. There's just going to be a lot of chances for them to develop some pretty good chemistry in this story, especially Sakura and Shisui, and I'm already shipping them pretty heavily. As this chapter is sort of a peek into Sakura's future, let me know what you think of the pairing.**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own _Naruto_. I do own my changes to the plot, though, and my attempts to fill the many, numerous plot-holes. Oh, and the changes to Sakura-chan are mine, too. So there, Kishimoto! Ha!**

 **Warning(s): This story is AU. And it gets _really_ AU towards the end (and this chapter is a sneak-peak at the end), so if you prefer canon-stories, this is not the story for you. Also, please no flames - I won't appreciate them. All other comments, though, are more than welcome.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Shannaro!**

* * *

 _ **Spring**_

* * *

 **Preface**

* * *

 _"And it's true that I'm a woman . . .  
but I'm definitely not a weak woman."_

 _-Tsunade Senju, **Naruto Shippuden**_

* * *

"You _bastard_ ," she snarls, her emerald-green eyes glowing with all of her fury. Her chakra, coating her entire form from the moment she called it to the surface like a thick blanket, crackles audibly, somehow alike both thunder and lightning all at once, and her eyes become like polished diamonds set into a face of beauty that has been shaped and sculpted by hardships, responsibility, violence, and, now, pure, unadulterated rage. "You're playing with _fire_ now, Uchiha, and I'm going to make you regret ever _laying your Kami-damned eyes on **my boys**_."

Even faced with the violent, oppressive rage of the kunoichi who had been awarded titles like the First Harukage and the Spring and the Queen of Shinobi, Madara Uchiha sneers. "What will you do now?" he asks, teeth flashing in the bloody-red light of the flames flickering around them, and he tightens his grip around the so-called _'traitorous'_ Uchiha boy's throat. "Will you _cry_? _Weep_? _Beg me to spare him_? You're pathetic . . . _wench_."

The Uchiha Madara slowly chokes the life out of, purposefully drawing it out as to torture the pink-haired kunoichi and Kage, Shisui of the Body-Flicker and Sakura's own right-hand man in her village, hisses in displeasure at Madara's words, and his scrabbling grip on Madara's hand around his throat turns almost bruising as he digs his blunt nails into the glove-covered flesh. His dark eyes swirl into the crimson of his base-level, three tomoe Sharingan before morphing into his Eternal Mangekyou form, and the force of his glare upon his attacker is alike the burning of flames, fierce and promising to burn if you draw too close or push too far - and Madara has. "Don't . . . you _ever_ . . . call her . . . _that_ ," he hisses, despite his struggle to bring air into his lungs, and Madara chuckles in dark amusement.

"What are you going to do about it, _boy_?" he taunts, idly tightening his grip. "You're like _her_ , too pathetic to even respond."

Scarlet blood trickles from Shisui's lips, and Sakura's viridian eyes narrow and flash dangerously.

"You're dead," she growls, her fist tightening ever so slightly - the only warning other than her rapidly growing fury.

Madara's eyes, still obsidian since he believes the duo to be so far below his ability level he doesn't even need his Sharingan, widen, but before he can laugh, he is hurtling backwards and has dissolved into thousands upon thousands of scraps of paper.

Sakura draws her fist back from where she had landed the blow, brushing away stray cherry blossom petals that still drift in the air from her Body-Flicker as her Cherry-Blossom Clone heals Shisui in a manner of seconds. Itachi Uchiha lands next to her silently, dressed in the same armor as Shisui - strips of malleable black metal formed into body-tight armor with a bone-white Haruno circle proudly emblazoned on the back with the Uchiha clan's uchiwa insignia in the center of the white circle. The prodigy turns to look at the pink-haired kunoichi he has followed since she and Shisui saved him, and his eyes soften from their usual icy emotionless front to a warmer blend of emotions, from devotion to concern to love to indignant anger on her behalf.

She laughs silently, and he tucks a small strand of hair behind her ear - not captured in her complex braid she wears for battles when she has enough forewarning. His fingers linger against her cheek, and she leans into the small contact as the two share a moment of deeply emotional eye-contact that leaves the others around them feeling awkward, like they're intruding on something private and sacred.

An army of ANBU from Sakura's village, Harugakure, drop down behind Sakura, Shisui, and Itachi and wait, hardly fidgeting as they gather their weapons in preparation for when the battle will begin anew.

Madara slowly begins to reform, scraps of paper floating idly on the wind.

The 5 Kage - the Hokage, the Raikage, the Mizukage, the Tsuchikage, and the Kazekage - leap down from their sand platforms to stand with Sakura, to show their support for her and her village, before the army of ANBU but remaining behind her and her two companions. Sakura is leading them into this battle, into this war now, and they have all put their trust in her and come out stronger than before. They will _win_.

Shisui staggers to his feet and walks up to stand with Sakura and Itachi.

Upon his approach, both turn to look at him and reach out, brushing their hands across his cheeks in a quick, innocent show of affection - a silent question of his well-being. All three release the barriers that hide them from the world and communicate through eye-contact, sharing an in-depth conversation as the physical contact remains. Finally, once they have finished checking that Shisui is all right, Sakura and Itachi turn back to face Madara's slowly reforming body, and Shisui grabs their hands, interlacing their fingers as they wait together.

Suddenly, Sakura turns to look at her right-hand and left-hand men, a wry smile quirking her lips upwards at the corners; the emblem of her namesake proudly emblazoned on her now-bare forehead breaks into a thousand petals, which then form twisting, thorny vines, glowing in vibrant violet, which stretch across her entire body. "You two aren't allowed to die . . ." she murmurs lowly, her words meant for only their eyes, "all right?"

Shisui grins. "Never!" he jokes, but there is a degree of seriousness to his voice that assures her of his sincerity - even while he's playing the jokester.

Itachi allows a slight smile to cross his face - both at Sakura's worry and at Shisui's inane goofiness - and inclines his head in both acceptance of her words and agreement with Shisui. "You are not allowed either," Itachi states slowly, seriously, and Shisui nods his vehement agreement.

Sakura smiles as her eyes start to glow a luminescent viridian. "I swear," she says, and despite her light-hearted smile, her boys can tell that she is not lying - she will not allow herself to die, because she has now made a promise. And she will keep that promise, just like all of her promises before.

 _'Well done, Sakura,'_ Tsunade thinks, smiling fondly as she watches the battle kimono-clad back of her student and precious child. The gleaming Haruno circle on the otherwise purely crimson silk seems almost like a beacon of hope now, a ray of light in this bloody war unlike any other - the kind of which Naruto could never hope to produce. _'You've surpassed me, and you've long since surpassed **them**. We're all watching your back, waiting to see how far you can go. Prove Madara wrong. Prove to him that my grandfather's strength was not lost to the generations, that the Senju are not weak, and that women should never be underestimated. We're all counting on you. Not Naruto. Not Sasuke. **You**. How far will you go?'_

Madara opens his eyes, now glowing with his three-tomoe Sharingan that slowly shifts into his Rinnengan, and takes a step forward, his expression burning with rage - rage that cannot compare, though, to Sakura's.

The Harukage smirks, tightening her grip on Itachi and Shisui's hands. "Let's do this," she says, and they all charge into battle.

* * *

 **Whoo! I finished!**

 **Okay, so I had been working on this for like an hour, but my internet just suddenly shuts off and I lose everything! So I had to rewrite basically the entire chapter, and it took me _soooooo_ long to muster up the motivation to actually write it again.**

 **But, here it is. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below, and don't forget to give your opinion on the whole Itachi/Sakura/Shisui pairing idea I had. I hope you guys like it, 'cause the more I write of this story, the more dead-set on that pairing I am.**

 **(But don't worry, 'cause the end pairing in _Pith_ is going to be up to you guys no matter what!)**

 **Ja ne!**

 **~thestrengthofacherryblossom**


	2. Chapter 1

**Welcome, my little Springlettes!**

 **Sakura: *trying to disguise her snorts of laughter as coughing***

 ***eyebrow twitch* Welcome to the second chapter of** ** _Spring_** **!**

 **Sakura: *still snorting***

 ***both eyebrows twitch* The adventure continues, and you, my dear readers, get to see the beginning of how Sakura-chan gets so strong - as shown in the last chapter!**

 **Sakura: *bursts out laughing***

 ***eye twitches rapidly***

 **Sakura: *breathless, still laughing* G-Good one, Author-c-ch-chan! Bwahahaha!**

 ***irritated, seething* If you're up to making sarcastic remarks, maybe you'd like to handle the 'author duties' for once.**

 **Sakura: *smug smile*** **I would love to. *kicks me out of the Author chair and sits in front of the mic***

 **Hey! *falls off screen***

 **Sakura: Hello, ladies and gentleman. Sakura Haruno, your heroine here; thestrengthofacherryblossom is . . . *clears her throat*** ** _incapacitated_** **at the moment, leaving me in charge. I'll be handling the author's note from here on out. The special guest for today is . . . drum-roll please!**

 ***grudgingly does a drum roll, glaring at her***

 **Sakura: Kakashi Hatake, the most popular character according to the Third Databook! Welcome to the book, Kakashi-sensei. Coincidentally - or not so much, considering Author-chan - Kakashi-sensei is actually - sort of - appearing in the chapter today. But, anyway, hey, Kakashi-sensei.**

 **Kakashi: *walking on to the stage, nose buried in his book* Maa, maa, hello, Sakura-chan.**

 ***glares at him***

 **Kakashi: And Author-chan.**

 **Sakura: *glares at him***

 **Kakashi: *rolls his eyes* And the (*whisper* nonexistent) readers.**

 **Sakura: *leaning back in her chair, appeased* Well, at least you're not late today.**

 **Kakashi: *shrugs nonchalantly* Yeah, I know - it surprises me, too. I guess the black cats decided to avoid** ** _me_** **today.**

 ***snorts quietly***

 **Sakura: *tick mark throbbing on the back of her head, ignoring his remark* Now, Kakashi, how about you read thestrengthofacherryblossom's replies to the comments we've gotten.**

 ***mumbling* Why can't you do it? Y'know, since** ** _you_** **can do** ** _my_** **job so much better than** ** _I_** **can?**

 **Sakura: *ignoring me***

 **Kakashi: *sighs deeply* Sure, Sakura-chan. *sits down in the other chair and puts his book away* To Sunny ver 2.0, she thanks you and would like to say that she is sorry for the update taking a while; she says life kind of got in the way, there for a bit. She's just having a hard time, it seems, with feeling homesick.**

 ***blushing a little bit***

 **Kakashi: She would also like to say: "I'm glad to be writing again! There was a point in there where I was struggling with a lot of motivation to keep writing. The stress with school and just life in general has really been getting me down. But I'm doing slightly better now, so here I am! Also, I do believe you read the original - I seem to recall reading your comments on it." She smiles at this point. "Thank you for all of the compliments - I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story moving forward."**

 **Sakura: *tapping her papers and then folding them* To Just Anonymous, thestrengthofacherryblossom would, first, like to thank you for commenting. And, second of all, she would also like to say, "Thank you so much! And I totally agree with you. Strong!Sakura stories are so hard to find, and they're, like, my favorite _Naruto_ fanfictions to read. I wish more people wrote them. Sakura deserves so much more than what she got from Kishimoto, and most people can't even see her potential; I wish that more people liked her - she doesn't deserve to be hated.** **"**

 **Kakashi: To** **Twisted Musalih, thestrengthofacherryblossom replies, "I will be sure to oblige your request, milady/my sir/whatever you wish to be called by. No worries; more is soon to come. Sorry about the hold up."**

 **Sakura: In reply to gabi2801, thestrengthofacherryblossom says, "Thank you so much - both for reading, commenting, and your compliment! I love ItaSakuShi, too; I think they all would have had a very healthy relationship if they got together in canon. And no worries; I'm not stopping this story any time soon."**

 **Kakashi: Answering** **DellaLothely's rather well-written comment, the strengthofacherryblossom says, "Aw, thank you! And I'm glad that you like fanfictions like mine; I love them, too. Thank you for reading and everything else. And no worries - your English isn't all that bad." She smiles.**

 **Sakura: In response to AnimeNerd667, thestrengthofacherryblossom winks and says, "You got it!"**

 **Kakashi: And, finally, to Guest, she states, "Aw, you're so sweet! Thank you so much for your kind words! And I really hope you enjoy where I'm planning on taking this story."**

 ***clears his throat***

 **Kakashi: Also, to everyone else (who actually bothers to read this), thestrengthofacherryblossom would like to personally thank you for reading. She hopes that you will continue to enjoy the story and would like to invite everyone to let her know what you all think of the story so far.**

 **Sakura: She's kind of a comment-whore if you think about it.**

 ***glares at her***

 **Itachi: *poking his head into the door* We're now behind, guys. You've got to wrap this up; we've got people complaining outside.**

 ***freaking out* SHIT! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I LET YOU DO THIS, YOU HEAR ME, SAKURA HARUNO!? THE LAST TIME!**

 **Sakura: *leaning back in her seat, smiling smugly* Hai, hai.**

 ***curtains close***

 **Kakashi: *pops up in front of the curtains* Sorry about this, but thestrengthofacherryblossom insisted. "Disclaimer: I don't own** ** _Naruto_** **. Believe it." *opens his book and starts reading* That's all, folks. *Body-Flickers away***

* * *

 _ **Spring**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 _"_ _I'm not gonna run away,  
and I never go back on my word,  
that is my nindō!  
My ninja way!"_

 _-Naruto Uzumaki, **Naruto**_

* * *

 _'Naruto's sobbing is starting to get really annoying,'_ Sakura thinks, but, staring at the graves they'd made for the missing-nin - Zabuza Momochi of the 7 Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist - and his apprentice - Haku of the Yuki clan - after they'd died fighting her team, she can't bring herself to quiet him. There's an aching to her muscles that suggests that she wouldn't be able to even if she wanted to, and, besides, she's too deep in her thoughts to even _think_ about moving, let alone yelling and/or punching him.

She winces at the thought. She's cruel - really cruel. She's never really thought about it before, too absorbed in being like everyone else, arguing with Ino, and vying for Sasuke's attention.

 _'And speaking of Sasuke-kun,'_ she thinks, and she glances over at the Uchiha in question.

Sasuke-kun's clothing is still torn in multiple places, his navy-blue shirt, with its high collar, riddled with holes and rips from his battle with Haku and all of the needles the nin used. The crimson of his blood is still smeared on his pale skin - his face, his uncovered forearms, his legs - and has stained his clothing; the scratches and holes from being pierced by the senbon Haku utilized in his attacks are still raw and red and oozing blood in some spots, causing blood to slide down his muscular arms and legs - accenting the developed nature of his muscles. Still, despite his haggard and less-than-stellar appearance, his dark, fathomless eyes in her direction is more than enough to make her heart skip a beat.

She frowns at herself and looks away, staring back at the makeshift graves they'd dug. She'd gotten to hold Sasuke-kun on the bridge, clutch him tightly to her, but that - that _foolish_ mistake - had come at a cost. A high cost, though nothing had actually happened. Her one job, her one role in all of this, was to protect Tazuna - that was what they'd been hired to do; that was the only order Kakashi-sensei had given her. But in order to hold Sasuke-kun, she had abandoned Tazuna - she'd left him behind.

Sure, Tazuna had followed, trotted along beside her dutifully, but the moment she'd seen Sasuke-kun, seen his broken, bleeding body sprawled out on the concrete of the bridge and staining the pale gray stone, all thoughts of Tazuna flew out the window and all she could think about was Sasuke-kun.

If Zabuza hadn't been tied up with Kakashi-sensei, if Naruto hadn't distracted Haku, if Zabuza had sent so much as one Water Clone - or any clone, really - after them, Tazuna would be dead, and they would have failed her mission. And it would have been all her fault.

Sakura has absolutely no doubt on this matter - one Water-Clone would've been more than enough to kill Tazuna, even if she had been paying attention; he was a renowned missing-nin at at least jōnin-level, and even if he wasn't - even if he was just a chūnin or genin, he would easily overpower her with her pathetic and lacking skills in shinobi arts. If Tazuna had been killed, it would have been all her fault, and she would have reduced everyone's efforts, Kakashi-sensei's injuries and exhaustion, Sasuke's wounds from being turned into a _pin-cushion_ , Naruto's bravery, her tears shed over her crush's unconscious body to nothing. It would have all been for nothing.

Her face burns hot with shame.

She was useless. Her intelligence, the vast stores of knowledge she'd boasted of whenever Ino had taunted her about the size of her forehead or her flat-chest and boy-like figure, wasn't enough to help her or her team - even at the very beginning, when the Demon Brothers had appeared; it wasn't that she hadn't _noticed_ the puddle (glaringly conspicuous as it was), and it wasn't that she wasn't aware of the Water Release jutsu the Demon Brothers had used - it was on the syllabus for the Academy and she'd read more than enough books at the Academy level to know of its existence. It was that she had just disregarded the _first lone puddle they'd encountered since they'd left Konoha when it hadn't rained in weeks_ ; she'd ignored it in favor of admiring the way Sasuke-kun walked, with a comfortable grace that she couldn't mimic, despite the fact she was fairly certain it was his first time leaving the village.

She had pride in herself, in her ability as a kunoichi, but, now, she was starting to think that she was an idiot for being proud of herself. Yes, she had graduated the Academy with top grades and she had a rather high intelligence, but the only reason Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun had ever so much as _looked_ her way at any point during the fights they'd gotten into while on their mission was to make sure she was still guarding Tazuna, that she hadn't abandoned her post, that she was still alive. Because she was just a _liability_ to them, something pathetic to drag around on their missions - she probably was only on their team because it was expected that the squads have a female member on them, not for any particular reason other than that. She was the weak link, without a doubt.

Because Sasuke-kun and Naruto, they'd managed to cooperate and work together to free Kakashi-sensei from Zabuza's Water Prison during their first clash with the missing-nin. Naruto had even made a scratch on Zabuza! They'd fought him, despite being vastly outmatched by the missing-nin's skill, experience, and sheer willingness to kill anything that got in his way. But Sakura, where was she during all of this? She stayed on the safety of the shore, a meager kunai drawn and held in shaking hands while her teammates and sensei were off doing the works of legends.

She's never felt so useless - not even when she was marching along in Ino's shadow.

And thinking on that, with those thoughts in mind, an idea starts to come into shape in her mind, blooming from nothingness - a small flame of determination flickering and dancing within her with gentle warmth. She'll work on her skills as a ninja, she'll get Sasuke-kun to notice her - but not in the way that he has on this mission, not as something to protect - because they both know that she can't protect herself.

She's started to loathe the girl who started the rumors about the type of girl Sasuke-kun prefers - long-hair, slim, pretty, confident - everything Ino insured she was but never received any more recognition than a "Hn. Annoying."

Because Sasuke-kun doesn't need a fan-girl in Team 7. He doesn't need some pretty girl standing on the side-lines shouting encouragements at him, telling him how great he is. Because if anything he's done on this mission is to go by, he already knows; his willingness to challenge a ninja who he only knew was incredibly loyal to a renowned missing-nin to a one-on-one battle displays that he's more than aware of his prodigious talents.

What he needs, she realizes with amazing clarity, what allowed him to work so seamlessly with Naruto, as though they'd been teammates for _years_ and despite their constant petty arguing and bickering, is trust. He needs someone he can trust on the team. Because Naruto, with all of his shortcomings, with his lack of knowledge on chakra, with his ignorance on basic thing taught at the Academy, he's proven resilient, determined, strong, and, most of all, _trustworthy_.

Everything Sakura isn't.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Hey, hey, are you okay!?" Naruto exclaims suddenly, loudly, and Sakura flinches back from the hand waving extremely close in front of her face.

She looks from the still-waving hand to the person it's attached to, barely restraining another flinch when she sees Naruto's bright blue eyes considerably closer than they should be, considering they're walking -

Wait, they're _walking_? Since _when_?

She does her best to look around inconspicuously, figuring that they must have started walking while she was thinking; she knows she tends to zone out when she's really thinking hard. From the look of things, they left the Land of Waves behind a while ago; they're probably closer to Konoha now, rather than the small town they'd come from. She must've been _really_ out of it.

"Sakura-chan?"

Again, Naruto manages to snap her out of her thoughts, and she realizes with a jolt that Naruto is still waiting for an answer to his previous question. And he sounds - and looks - more concerned for her well-being than anyone else since she ended her friendship with Ino; it's nearly painful how jarring that realization is to her.

Sakura bites back her grimace, and, instead, she smiles at the blonde. "I," she chokes on the word but swallows hard and tries again. "I'm fine."

Really, she's not, and she can tell by the disbelieving look on his face that he can tell. Still, though, he plasters a giant grin on his face, tucks his arms behind his head, and nods.

"That's good, Sakura-chan! Believe it!" he exclaims, and she feels a sudden surge of appreciation for him she can't really explain.

For all of the ways that Naruto can annoy her (though if she's honest with herself, she's being a hypocrite because she does the same thing with Sasuke-kun - and her Inner winces at that realization), he can be so incredibly kind and thoughtful.

And so, Sakura decides she'll make an effort. "Naruto," she calls hesitantly, and he turns to look at her, a heartbreakingly hopeful expression on his face.

She's struck by another realization at his expression - _was I really that horrible to him? Have I really been that_ awful _?_

Inner runs thought all of their memories of their interactions with him in an instant and comes up with one solid, definitive answer: _**yes.**_ And both Sakura and her Inner feel an enormously painful surge of guilt.

 ** _We'll fix that, like everything else,_** Inner promises, and Sakura agrees with a sharp mental nod.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks, his voice still so full of barely restrained hope, and she forces herself to smile a bit wider. Because she's going to try - dammit!

"You . . . you did really well on-on the mission," she chokes out. "With, y-you know, Haku and Gato's thugs and . . . stuff."

For a moment, Naruto's expression is totally, absolutely raw and exposed; it's as though, with her simple words, she's stripped him of all his defenses. He seems pleased, obviously, but there is a pained edge to his extreme joy - as if her acknowledgement, something he'd strived for since meeting her, is something he thought totally out of reach and to receive it now shakes his whole world and changes everything he knows. She can identify with him, then.

Though her family is, indeed, complete, there is a deep estrangement between her and her parents, as if they're not quite sure how to respond to her. That metaphorical wall or rift or valley between them has always existed, even when she was a young child, but when she first expressed interest in the rest of her family - and even more so when she said she wanted to be a ninja - her parents recoiled and nearly ostracized her.

Sasuke-kun claimed she has no idea what it's like to be alone, but she thinks it's him who has no idea; you're never lonelier than when you're alone in a crowd of people. Parents who don't love you are no better than no parents at all.

The expression fades from Naruto's face and is replaced by a grin that's somehow more blinding than the first. "Thanks!" he shouts, and she's thankful to him for not mentioning - or even acknowledging - her awkwardness. She knows that if she were talking to Sasuke-kun, he'd probably taunt her.

She hears Sasuke-kun snort, and she prepares to be wounded by whatever cutting remark he's winding up to unleash. But Naruto saves her. _Again_.

Cutting Sasuke-kun off and talking over him, Naruto rattles off a "I'm one step closer to Hokage, believe it!" and awards her another blinding grin. He seems totally unaware of the fact that he completely cut off Sasuke-kun and talked over him, but she has a sneaking suspicion he isn't so oblivious - and maybe he did that on purpose.

As her smile widens a smidge, Sasuke-kun frowns deeply at Naruto's interruption, and he huffs and looks away.

Sakura falls back into her thoughts, then, but not before allowing the boys to pass her by so that only Kakashi-sensei is behind her.

Throughout the entire mission, Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei protected her. They didn't let her do anything! They held her back and told her to watch Tazuna while they went off and did the work of legends. And she, being the trusting fool she was, went right along with it.

Rage burns in her chest at the unfairness of it all, but she pushes the emotion away, choosing to keep a clear head. She needs to plan.

She wants to be stronger, to become someone her teammates can count on. But she doesn't have Kakashi-sensei's support - he's only ever awarded Sasuke-kun that - and she doesn't have a nearly endless supply of chakra - like Naruto does - but she does have a clan; true, only a few members reside in Konoha, but she knows where the compound the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had awarded them after they helped fight off Madara Uchiha and the Kyuubi under his control (it's more of an honorary thing, considering that the Haruno clan has their own hidden village, called Harugakure, but several members have taken up residence there). She knows that if she explains herself, at least one of her fellow clan members should be willing to help.

As for her parents . . . well, she'll cross that bridge when she comes to it.

Sakura looks up, over the leafy tops of the trees that tower over her and her team, far into the distance. Looming over even the monstrously tall trees the First Hokage was said to have created (probably to show off, as is the norm with males) are the cliffs that Konoha was built against; the carvings of the Hokage, both previous and current, in the cliffs draws her eye, and she takes a moment to imagine the future.

A grown-up Naruto, mature and reasonable but still rambunctious and mischievous, watching over the village - both in person and as another carving on the Hokage mountain. A living legend, a true hero.

Kakashi-sensei, same as ever - except a little more tired. An exceptional shinobi, despite his age - a shining jewel in Konoha's crown if there ever was one.

And Sasuke-kun, victorious. Vengeance complete and rebuilding of his clan on the way. Powerful as Naruto, yet less arrogant than before. Another living legend.

As for her, as for Sakura, well, she's not quite sure yet, where she's going.

Once, she'd wanted to be Sasuke-kun's wife, to be the mother of his children, but now she's not so sure. She can see who he really is now, and she doesn't really like the view. He's arrogant, stuck-up, and cruel; he only cares about himself.

If she's going to end up with someone now, she doesn't think she wants it to be him. He's pretty, yes, but the only beauty he has is on the outside, not the inside.

And even if Sasuke-kun does manage to ever change, Sakura knows she'll only be expected to stay at home and raise her children. Be a stay-at-home mom whose only jobs are full-time motherhood, cooking, and cleaning. She doesn't want that - she became a shinobi for a reason, and it wasn't to give up now.

Finally, Sakura knows what she wants, and, recalling the lecture at the Academy on the Will of Fire and one's own ninja way, she makes a vow on the Hokage Mountain and on the fire burning within her chest. _'I won't bend, I won't cave, and I won't break. I will be a proud kunoichi, will be a proud **shinobi** , and I will be useful to my team. I will make them watch **my** back. That is **my** ninja way.'_

* * *

Sakura strides out on to the training field, alone and with no one else in sight. She draws a kunai from the pouch wrapped around her thigh and, with no hesitation, slices through her long hair in one move. Strands of pastel pink hair float down to the ground, and, with nothing left to support it, her forehead protector begins to fall. She catches it, though, and ties it around her forehead, her emerald green eyes burning with determination.

* * *

 **Finished!**

 **So what do you guys think? That little ending scene wasn't originally part of the idea, but while I was trying to sleep (which is when most of my ideas come to me, unfortunately) I came up with it and had to add it.**

 **Again, I know that there's a lot of borrowed elements from _Pulling My Weight_ , and I give credit where credit is due - but I promise it will get a lot more original from here on in. Next chapter has a batch of OCs from the Haruno clan entering the story - one in particular is incredibly important to the overall story and she's great.**

 **I'm exhausted. It's really late here, and I stayed up just to finish typing this up so you guys didn't have to wait any longer. So here it is.**

 **Now, I'm going to go to bed.**

 **Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below. Every comment, fav, and follow is greatly appreciated and helps give me the strength to keep carrying on. Thanks for reading!**

 **Ja ne!**

 **~thestrengthofacherryblossom**


	3. Chapter 2

**Smerup100: Aw, thanks! And you're totally welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)  
DellaLothely: Aw, thank you! And I'm glad that you like fanfictions like mine; I love them, too. Thank you for reading and everything else. And no worries - your English isn't all that bad. :)  
Midnightdreams33: Thanks! :D  
AnimeNerd667: You got it! ;)**

 **Welcome back, everyone!**

 **It's the second official chapter of _Spring_ , and now we get into the exciting part - where Sakura-chan starts to get stronger. We also get to meet some members of the Haruno clan - all of whom I love so much.**

 **At the end of the chapter, I'll give you some extra information on the Haruno clan member OCs, so keep your eyes peeled! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I, thestrengthofacherryblossom, do not own _Naruto_ or any of the characters from it; that all belongs to Kishimoto. However, I do own my changes to the plot (the ones you don't recognize from other fanfiction - probably), and I especially own the Haruno clan and all of the OCs in it.**

 **Warning(s): AU, AU, AU! If you prefer canon (though I can't see why you would, since, most likely, if you're reading this, you aren't happy with the way Sakura was treated in canon - like me), this is not the story for you.**

* * *

 _ **Spring**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

 _"_ _When captured birds grow wiser,  
they try to open the cage with their beaks.  
_ _They don't give up,  
_ _because they want to fly again."  
_

 _-Genma Shiranui, **Naruto**_

* * *

Sakura wanders the library, walking each aisle and running her index finger down the spines of the books and scrolls piled on to the shelves. It's comforting to her, to be surrounded by all of the books and scrolls; even though she can only wander the genin and civilian sections, there is something so fulfilling about being a paper-ninja in a room piled to the ceilings with books and scrolls.

She remembers who she was before Ino. Pre-Ino Sakura was always surrounded by books; her inborn shyness and fear of being bullied for one reason or another made her introverted and a loner by necessity. Books and scrolls were her only friends, but even after Ino, she's still retained the ability to _devour_ a whole pile of scrolls and books in a matter of a few hours.

She's in her element now.

She eyes the chūnin section speculatively, but, feeling the jōnin manning the desk up front watching her closely, she decides against going for it. The higher-level reading material isn't worth the trouble she'll get into for trying to get it, she thinks, and Inner agrees. So she turns back to the shelf in front of her.

She already has a few scrolls and books tucked under her arm - materials on a mix of genjutsu and medical ninjutsu. Already, in the times she'd come here before now, she's read every scroll and book available to genin on chakra and chakra control; she's begun to work on pushing chakra into her blows to reinforce them, but with no one to really practice with, she hasn't been able to get very far. It's the same with genjutsu - both area-effect and internal-effect; without a sparring partner, she has no idea if she's doing it right or not.

As for medical ninjutsu, well, she knows she has to go to the hospital and ask to be apprenticed to be a nurse there to truly master medical ninjutsu to the extent she wants to (someday, she'll stand with Naruto and Sasuke-kun, but even before then, she will help them pick themselves back up and heal all of their wounds), but she's been putting it off; she doesn't want to solely be a medical-ninja - she doesn't want to be confined to the hospital 24/7. Sure, she wants to help people and she wants to be able to heal Naruto and Sasuke-kun, but she wants to be more than a passive medic-nin - hence the other areas of study. Another reason is that she knows vaguely of a member or two of the Haruno clan who are medic-nin, and she would rather ask one of them (even then, she feels a bit awkward and shy just thinking about showing up on someone's doorstep and asking them to train her).

So Sakura grabs one more scroll from the shelf before her, one on internal-effect genjutsu, before returning to the table she's already piled high with scrolls and books. She sits and, choosing the most promising looking from her mountainous pile of information, gets down to business and starts studying, settling in for the long haul.

* * *

.,.

* * *

Hanako leaps from roof to roof, nodding a greeting to each fellow shinobi she passes as she goes; most are too busy - or too rude and/or too lazy (*cough*Hatake*cough*) - to respond, but a select few return the gesture, some wave to her and some shoot her a smile - especially the ones she knows personally (outside of missions, that is). When she passes by Genma, Iwashi, and Raidō, she awards the trio a brilliant smile and vocalizes a greeting.

Out of all of the Konoha-shinobi she has met as a result of Ren-sama's orders to stay in the Haruno clan compound within the village, she likes those three the best (and Hatake the worst, but that's a story for another time). Iwashi and Raidō's bickering is so incredibly entertaining, and the frequency of their childish mock-fights devolving into full-on spars is just another plus; they never get too into the fighting, despite how much they disagree and argue, never drawing blood and rarely bruising - just exchanging a flurry of mock-blows that's utterly entertaining to watch. Genma, though, is her favorite of all - his off-hand snarky, sarcastic quips never fail to make her crack up, and his quirked grin always makes her heart skip a beat.

Iwashi and Raidō grin at Hanako and give her twin, cheery "Hello!"s as they pass her, heading for the Hokage's office, but Genma leaps to her side and joins her on her trip to the library.

"Hey," the tokubetsu jōnin says, shooting her a sideways smile she returns.

"Hey," Hanako replies, pushing an extra bit of chakra to her muscles to help her make the next series of jumps. "How was your mission?"

Genma snorts, still chewing on his senbon, and he shoots an amused look at her. "Long," he says as way of reply, returning his focus forward, "and boring. The borders are dead as always."

Hanako chuckles. "It's mostly a formality," she says as she jumps down from the roof, "but what if something _did_ happen and no one was there?"

Genma huffs, jamming his hands in his pockets as he walks beside her down the tightly packed, narrow streets. Most everyone's bumping elbows with one another, but the civilians afford the duo as much room as they possibly can - recognizing them as some of their faceless, nameless protectors.

"I know, Hanako; I know," Genma groans, and the light-haired kunoichi jabs her elbow into his ribs; the tokubetsu jōnin doesn't bother to dodge the blow and, instead, gives a good-natured grunt upon impact, awarding his companion a mischievous grin. "You don't need to keep nagging me, _Ugly_."

Letting loose an outraged shriek that serves as a battle-cry, Hanako swings at him. He catches the blow, though, and bumps shoulders with her. She smiles.

"So what are you doing?" Genma asks suddenly, looking around.

"Heading to the library," she replies without looking at him. "Fu had a scroll he wanted me to pick up for him - plus Ai sent me a message saying there's something of interest at the library." She shrugs. "I figured I might as well check it out since I'm headed there anyway."

He blinks and nods in understanding, looking fairly thoughtful as they continue to approach the library now visibly looming over the streets. After a moment of silence, he speaks again: "What do you think it is?"

She shrugs again. "Not sure," she admits, "but I'm fairly certain it could be anything - Ai isn't exactly discreet about her . . . less than _savory_ interests. So, like I said, it could be anything - from a scroll she found on taijutsu to the signs that somebody's fucked somewhere in the library."

Genma snorts, and Hanako grins.

"All I'm saying is that I have no idea what to expect," she finishes, shrugging one last time. "Ai is a little . . ." She twirls her finger around her ear, and he laughs.

"You have a point," he says, giving her another mischievous grin with his eyebrows quirked, and when she giggles, he looks vaguely pleased at his ability to make her laugh.

He jogs ahead of her at a civilian pace and opens the library door for her - like a true gentleman.

She arches an eyebrow, and his grin grows.

"Milady," he says, sliding into a low bow and sweeping his arm in a gesture meant to indicate tat she should enter, and she snorts.

"As always, Genma, your manner are impeccable,: she says and sidles forward to whisper her next words in his ear, "but tell me this: where is your 'supposed' . . . _lady_? I can't seem to find her."

Genma shivers at the feeling of her warm breath tickling his skin pleasantly with its moist heat, but just as he's about to do something about her Kami-damned _teasing_ when a blur of strawberry blonde and pink and white rushes out, grabs Hanako, and rushes back inside.

A shout of "Come on, silly!" hangs in the air, even after the two have disappeared, and he groans, sliding his hand down his face.

After a moment of silent debate, he walks inside, allowing the door to slide shut behind him. He's not going to force Hanako to deal with her crazy cousin by herself.

* * *

:

* * *

Hanako grimaces as her hyperactive cousin umps around, chattering about some inane topic; Ai has always been overexcited and unnecessarily cheerful - maybe she was dropped on her head as a baby.

Hanako entertains theories on the strawberry blonde's behavior and its source as the girl continues to ramble mindlessly.

"Isn't she half-Uchiha?" Genma's voice whispers from behind her, and the minuscule tightness in her shoulders dissipates.

Relaxing back into him, she shoots him a look. "She is," she says slowly, "though her father and two half-brothers were infamous for being the very few cheerful, talkative Uchiha."

He nods and drags his hand up and down her upper arm. "Do you think she was dropped on her head as a child?" he asks, deliberately pitching his voice low enough to turn it husky and flirtatious.

She shivers at both the sound of his voice and the feeling of his warm breath dragging across her sensitive skin, but she forces her voice to remain steady. "Probably," she says, shrugging. And, immediately, she regrets it; his skin drags against hers and lights a fire across her nerves. She lets out a shaking gasp, and she can almost _feel_ Genma's smug pleasure.

Luckily (or not, considering how she revels in his touch), her strangled breath draws Ai's attention, and the half-Haruno, half-Uchiha kunoichi bounces over.

She shoots Hanako a meaningful and slightly triumphant look but says nothing, grabbing the sleeves of her indigo shirt and tugging her forward. "Come on, come on!" she cheers, bouncing slightly.

Hanako allows her cousin to pull her along, ignoring the way she can feel the heat of Genma's gaze lingering on her back - threatening to scald her and/or set her aflame. "What is it, Ai?" she asks and curses her voice for shaking slightly.

"Look!" Ai hisses, surprisingly serious for once, and Hanako follows her pointing index finger to see what seems undeserving of her cousin's interest.

Ai is pointing to a young girl, looking about 12 or 13, with short _pink_ hair. _Pink_ hair, a bright shade that's almost impossible t hide and doesn't camouflage with anything - except for, perhaps, cherry blossoms in bloom. She's small, with barely any muscle definition in her arms and shoulders hat are bared by her red and white qipao-style kimono, and rather physically unimpressive, but she has a pile of scrolls and books crowding her tiny form that intrigues Hanako.

 _'Whatever it is that pinky's studying, she's really into it.'_

Still, Hanako isn't sure what about the tiny pinkette has attracted Ai's attention to this degree.

"That pile of scrolls," Ai says, displaying her surprising prowess at reading people - especially Hanako, "it's her fourth pile _today_."

Hanako whistles lowly, Genma echoing the sentiment - he's joined them by now, having finally sort through his issues.

"That's quite the devotion to reading," the pure-blood Haruno kunoichi remarks, and Genma smirks.

"Even Ebisu couldn't pull off something like that," he says, dodging Hanako's attempts to jab him in the side. "Even when he was in his bookish nerd prime." He ducks, barely managing to dodge another blow from the kunoichi by his side.

Ai barely pays attention to the two's mock-battle, instead focusing her deep indigo eyes on the studying pink-haired tween. "That's not it," she says, and Hanako and Genma freeze in the middle of their mock-spar at her deeply serious tone; her happy-go-lucky cheer that's earned her the nickname 'Sunshine' has completely disappeared, replaced with a menacing, icy seriousness that doesn't bode well. "She's Mebuki's."

Genma doesn't understand the monumental meaning behind the words, but Hanako does and releases a hissing outtake of breath that heralds the inevitable loss of her composure.

"The same Mebuki I'm thinking of? Kizashi's wife?" she asks through gritted teeth, and Ai gives a curt, jerky nod. Hanako hisses again.

Genma blinks. "What is it? Who is Mebuki?" he asks, glancing mostly between the two Haruno kunoichi but also shooting appraising glances at the pink-haired girl they've been discussing. She's halfway through a monstrously thick book, and if he's not wrong, it's a medical textbook that most nurses at the hospital would struggle through. But this pink-haired preteen girl is _devouring_ it and, from the look of it, enjoying it, too.

Hanako turns to look at him. "Mebuki is a Haruno civilian," she explains. "She's my half-sister, the kid of my mother - Kita Haruno - and some Rain-nin she had a one-night stand with while on a mission."

"She married Kizashi," Ai adds, her face still twisted into an expression of intense dislike, "Kizashi of the Yamamoto clan. He was a pretty impressive shinobi, but he gave it all up for Mebuki. She forced him to retire and become a civilian merchant instead."

Genma blinks again.

"She hates shinobi," Hanako declares, crossing her arms across her chest. Her expression mirrors Ai's - deep dislike that borders on loathing - but there is an element of pain, of an old hurt that's not yet healed, in her pale blue eyes that Ai doesn't share.

He wonders silently if Mebuki's hatred of shinobi has ever led to her lashing out at Hanako for her career choice, but then a realization dawns on him. "But isn't the Haruno clan a clan of _shinobi_?" he asks, his brows rising.

Both Hanako and Ai nod, and he huffs out a laugh.

"That seems like a rather doomed mental standpoint," he remarks, and though both kunoichi nods in agreement, Hanako's frown deepens.

"Mebuki's cut all ties with the clan," the dirty blonde continues. "She changed her last name to Yamamoto after she married Kizashi." Once she's said that, she hurries over to her cousin. "Is she _that one_ or . . .?" she trails off when Ai nods.

"Yup, she's the one," she replies, and Hanako sighs heavily.

Genma is about to ask when she turns back to him. "Clan business," she says curtly, answering his unasked question and forbidding further questioning all in one. Then she walks off, towards the pink-haired girl. "I'm going to talk to her," she calls over her shoulder, and that's that.

Ai sighs, shaking her head - though there's a degree of fondness to her exasperation that shines through in her smile. "Same old Hanako," she says, and Genma nods in agreement.

Ten the strawberry blonde's seriousness dissipates, and her ditzy persona returns.

"You want to try to catch Tora with dango with me!?"

He shakes his head in disbelief and walks away.

* * *

.,.

* * *

Though she's still absorbed in reading her most current book on medical ninjutsu, Sakura can feel the presence of someone approaching her.

Whoever it is, they're making some effort to hide their presence - not much, only enough that a high-level genin or a low-level chūnin would struggle to detect. If it weren't for her practice and experiments in replicating the Mind's Eye of Kaguya Technique she'd read about, she wouldn't even have noticed the person's presence.

It's for that reason that she doesn't flinch when an unfamiliar voice sounds from slightly in front of her, saying, "Whatcha doing?"

"Reading" Sakura replies, not looking up from the book on the Mystical Palm Technique she's studying; she's almost got the technique figured out - she just needs a bit more.

"You want to be a medic?" the voice asks, sounding slightly incredulous, and Sakura forces herself to look up from her book, figuring she's being rude.

The stranger who approached her is pretty - very pretty. Her hair, a pale shade of blonde like sun-bleached wheat, falls in loose wavy curls to her mid-back - the length almost exactly the length Sakura's used to be, before she cut it. Her ice-blue eyes, set into her pale and heart-shaped face with high cheekbones and full lips, sparkle with a friendly but mischievous light that leaves Sakura slightly wary.

She's clearly a kunoichi; she wears a black forehead protector tied around her forehead, the symbol of their village proudly displayed for all to see. She also wears a tight, black sleeveless top that clings to her and accentuates her developed muscles; a pair of blue, standard-issue pants; and a pair of black, shin-high boots. But the part of her outfit that gives Sakura pause is the white circle the kunoichi wears emblazoned on her clothing - the Haruno circle. The woman isn't just a kunoichi; she's a kunoichi from the Haruno clan.

Flushing when she realizes she's been staring, Sakura glances back down at the open book sitting in front of her. "Yes . . . and no," she says hesitantly, playing with the edge of the page she was reading previously, and she feels the woman's eyes on her still. She sighs. "I don't want to _just_ be a medic - I want to fight, too; I want to be able to fight and heal."

"That's admirable," the woman says, her voice ringing with sincerity and truth, and she sits in the chair opposite Sakura. "Do you want any help? I'm a combat med-nin, actually - my mentor was taught by Lady Tsunade. I'd be happy to help if you want."

Sakura looks up so fast her neck cracks and her hair slaps her in the face.

* * *

.,.

* * *

The pinkette is intriguing to Hanako; she's shy and hesitant about her dreams - which is only to be expected, considering the woman who raised her. But what's truly interesting about the girl is the sheer drive and strength of will she displays, set into the downturn of her mouth, the minuscule crease of her eyebrows, the recesses of her spring-green eyes.

The girl reminds Hanako of Tsunade in this way - in her sheer determination, the stubborn set of her mouth, the glow of potential in her eyes; she could be the next Tsunade and revolutionize both medicine and the battlefield. And Hanako has a sudden vision of the pinkette standing proudly, overlooking the village - determination burning in her steadfast expression and a violet Yin Seal glowing on her brow; she sees the girl as a woman, as a warrior with developed muscles and wisdom shining and the strength and willpower to tilt the world on its axis. Hanako is both startled and stunned by the sheer _need_ she feels to get the pinkette there, to help her achieve her dreams, to be there, to help her achieve her dreams, to be there when she needs someone; Hanako wants to make up for the cruelty of her sister and the failures of the girl's mother - she wants to be family.

So she offers to teach the girl, to be her mentor, and when the pinkette looks up at her so fast she must get whiplash, with a raw and strained hope - the look of someone who is scared of being hopeful because they've been kicked when hey were down one too many times - Hanako swears on her Way of the Flower that she will make the girl strong enough to knock the sun out of the sky and stay beside her every step of the way.

 _'Someday,'_ she thinks, _'she will become the woman I saw, I'll make sure of it.'_

* * *

 **Hanako Haruno: A pureblood Haruno kunoichi who works at the hospital whenever she's not on missions; has a sort-of relationship with Genma Shiranui; mother: Kita Haruno; father: unknown; has one half-sister: Mebuki Yamamoto. Blonde, blue eyes, 5'5".**

 **Ai Haruno : A half Haruno, half Uchiha kunoichi who known for pretending to be an idiotic, ditzy blonde despite being quite smart and an excellent shinobi; genjutsu-master; is dating Fu Haruno; mother: Kigiku Haruno; father: Akio Uchiha; 2 brothers who are full-blood Uchiha: Shisui and Obito Uchiha. Strawberry blonde, brown eyes, 5'1".**

 **And done!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I've gotta go.**

 **Ja ne!**

 **~thestrengthofacherryblossom**


End file.
